Rotary clothes lines or dryers are well known, and in particular, a common form of clothes dryer has a plurality of radial arms with line being secured to and extending between each of the radial arms. An example of such a clothes dryer is shown in FIG. 1 of our Australian Patent No 574117.
The invention referred to in Australian Patent No 574117 and the invention described in patent application No. 55010/90 is directed to solving the problem of securing line to the frame members of a clothes dryer. In both of these cases, it is important that the clothes line be securely held with respect to the radial arms so as to prevent the arms spreading when a large weight of clothes is hung on a span of line between two adjacent arms.
However, a further problem that has been encountered results from stretching of a line that extends around the radial arms of the clothes dryer. Due to environmental conditions such as high temperature and temperature variations, and as a result of relatively high loads being applied to the line during warm to hot conditions, the line will stretch, which results in the line curving and hanging between adjacent radial arms rather than being taut and stretched between the arms.
This results in a clothes dryer having an unsightly appearance, which is undesirable.
In respect of the invention disclosed in patent application No. 55010/90, it is possible to retension the line by pulling the line tight from the centre hub of the clothes dryer and gradually pulling the line tight as it extends around the radial arms and finally relocking the line in the line lock device installed in each end of each radial arm. However, this process is reasonably time consuming, and inconvenient, and therefore it is an object of this invention to provide a means of retensioning a line or taking up slack within the line which can be achieved simply and quickly.